Tyne

The port of Tyne is located on the East coast of England at South Shields, just outside the city of Newcastle. Imports and exports go to and from Tyne, from destinations all over the world. From northern Europe to the Bahamas the port of Tyne handled 3.2 million tonnes of cargo traffic in 2010.

Although the port of Tyne is most northerly, it has excellent inland transport links for container movement. On leaving the port, containers in transit would find themselves upon the A1(M) arterial road. This is a superb major roadway that links Newcastle in the North, with the Capital, London, in the South. There are many major destinations for containers in transit, when travelling south from Tyne along the A1, some of which include, Durham (19 miles), Darlington (37 miles), Leeds (99 miles), Peterborough (200 miles), and the capital itself, London (284 miles). This is a most versatile of routes for containers to take, as most networks branch off from this road. Easy access is sought onto the M1 Motorway. From Leeds, it is a straightforward process to join the M62 towards Manchester, and the M1 and M6 motorways meet in the Midlands for Birmingham. Alternatively, cargo can take the A69 arterial road away from the port. By taking this route, any containers in transit can join the M6 motorway at Carlisle (69 miles). From cargo can be transported North into Scotland, towards Glasgow (161 miles), and also South. Following a more coastal path down towards Preston (139 miles), Blackpool (151 miles) and onto Manchester (146 miles).

Records show that the port of Tyne has existed since Roman times. The Romans would trade wool, grain, wood, salt, lead and fish, and in return they would receive, wine, cloth, tiles and metal. The port of Tyne was strategically placed in these times as it was used as the supply line to the many forts along Hadrian’s Wall. The ports modern day importance and prosperity started with the export of coal, and established the port as one of the most important in the country, but with the radical changes in the mining industry during the 1990’s, the port of Tyne needed to diversify to continue trading at such a high level. Today the port handles many different cargos, along with mass storage space for shipping container units, and should continue to prosper as the North East’s leading shipping port.